Thursday, July 17, 2014

This is my beautiful mother, Catherine / Cathy! My mom has always put helping others first - me, my sister, my dad and all of her former patients. She is one of the nicest, most loving people I will ever know in this world. I'm so lucky to call her mom! In fact, her love of sewing for other people is what made me love style in the first place when I was just a little girl. My mom is also the picture of aging gracefully - naturally. She is a former Registered Nurse who takes care of her skin, eats healthy foods and works out nearly every day as the sun comes up. In her late 60s, I think she looks incredible. And if you try to keep up with her on a daily basis, well...good luck!

Her first hesitation that "No one would want to see an older woman on a style blog," really made me think. Unfortunately, we see far too few images of beautiful women aging gracefully. In our society of drastic face lifts, tummy tucks, and endless sculpting through surgery, youth is the ultimate prize. If you age naturally, it appears (through many of the images that surround us) you are in the minority. I don't think it should be that way! We should see many, many more images of women aging beautifully. I'm incredibly proud to feature my mom, Catherine, here on Sweet on Style. Perhaps she will inspire other women to fully embrace aging and not be ashamed of it!

Stay tuned, Monday I will break down exactly what we bought for an amazing price of $75 and what petites like my mom need to look for when buying clothes. Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

My latest "Your Style: Enhanced" is a woman very, very close to my heart - it is my beautiful mother! She is one of the greatest supporters of everything I've ever done in my life. Just when I think I can't do something or wonder if anyone out there is reading Sweet on Style, my mom calls and says, "I absolutely loved your blog post yesterday!" :) I can't describe how loved she makes me feel. I hope I can be as fabulous a mother to Charlotte as she is to me.

On Friday, I will reveal my mom's new look and finds! We are both savvy shoppers, so I think you'll be surprised to see what we found for a total of $75!

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Most of us want to sparkle and shine (figuratively not literally) in the summer. We want that summer glow but without looking as if we've just walked 10 miles in 95 degree heat. Here are four tips from celebrity makeup artist Kriss Blevens of Kriss Cosmetics to keep your makeup looking fresh and beautiful in the heat.

Tip #4: Shine in the Right Place

So now that we've got our bronzing powder to keep us looking fresh, our mineral eye shadow to survive the heat, and our mineral lipstick, why not add a lip polish? If you do get slightly shiny in the humidity, you might as well distract from it with some dazzling shine on your lips. A pencil, mineral lip color and a lip shine or gloss last a long, long time. (Twelve hours at my wedding!) For a natural look during the summer, Kriss Cosmetics suggests you may want to think about a shade close to your lip color.

Tip #3: Mineral Lipstick

If you want a lipstick with staying power in the heat, a mineral lipstick is a great choice, according to Kriss Cosmetics. I've had great success with a mineral lipstick. One other tip Kriss has always told me is to use a lip liner before you apply your lipstick for some serious staying power. Kriss Cosmetics has an indelible waterproof lip liner with a brush if you're spending a day at the pool/beach or want some serious staying power at the office.

Just some background, Kriss is famous for her lipstick. She created a special blend of lipstick for then Sen. Hillary Clinton when she was running for president called "Debate." You can read more about it and her transformation of Clinton here.

Tip #2: Mineral Eye Shadows

If you're looking for an eye shadow that doesn't melt or smudge in the heat, Kriss Cosmetics says mineral eye shadows stay very well in the heat. Another bonus is that you can use some of them as eye liner as well, which means your liner will stay put in the heat too!

Tip #1: Wear a Bronzing Powder

A bronzing powder will not only give your skin a nice healthy glow without any UV rays and it will also help keep away too much shine on a scorcher of a day. Kriss Cosmetics adds a golden bronzer is universally flattering.

Thanks to celebrity makeup artist Kriss Blevens of Kriss Cosmetics for all of these hot weather makeup tips. Kriss is an expert at painting the faces of U.S. Presidents and presidential candidates who are under hot lights and under high pressure for hours in televised debates. There is no test quite like that for character or for makeup. Kriss also applied my wedding makeup on a 90-plus degree day and it stayed perfect for more than 12 hours!